Forgotten Toons: Marvel's Monster of Frankenstein (1981)

 Mary Shelley's creation by way of Marvel and then Japan.

This is Monster of Frankenstein, an Anime adaptation of the Marvel Comic.  It's not a one-to-one Adaptation, which is probably for the best.

To give a brief summary, between his regular adventures, the Monster met Spider-Man, fought Iron Man, was sent to the future by Kang and later ran an underground City full of Monsters.

Let's stick with a loose adaptation of the Story, shall we?

It also takes many cues from the Universal one, including the neck bolts and inhuman looking skin.  This Adam is also not a judgmental guy and he's also not ever called Adam.

To find out what they changed and what they didn't, read on...

The Film wastes NO time as Dr. Frankenstein and his Assistant- not Fritz OR Igor- try to make a new kind of man.

Initially, it fails, but then lightning strikes and super charges it to life.

It goes a bit crazy, scares them and flees.

The Doctor makes his Assistant go after the Creature, but he's maimed in the process.

The Doctor leaves like nothing happened.

His creation is indeed on the loose and it isn't friendly.

It eventually finds its way through the Woods to where the Doctor and company live.

The Doc won't spill his secret, but the Creature seems to want him to as it kills his bird, his dog and then wrecks his garden.

Revenge kind of petered off there at the end admittedly.

The Assistant tries to blackmail the Doctor and was apparently behind the killings and/or scare tactics.

He's confronted by the Creature and killed in self-defense.

The Inspector- who's a bit like the one from Lupin the Third- works the case, especially as more bodies show up.

The Doctor is no help.

Things take an interesting turn (or three) as we learn that the Doctor is the SON of the original Frankenstein.

The Creature shows up at the Dad's Home while he's with the Grandkids.  While they're gone, the Creature greets the Dad...who is the blind guy from the Story- most famously played by Gene Hackman in Young Frankenstein.

He befriends the Creature and the Daughter soon does as well.  Nothing can go wrong!

Yeah, everything goes wrong.

The Doctor's Wife dies, the grandkid dies, the Creature jumps to its death and the Doc kills himself.

It's...wow.  Alright then.
The End.

A Film that is honestly pretty good...and then suddenly really dark.  This one...takes a turn.

The Art Style is typical Toei Animation and very similar to the Dracula Anime.  All of the tropes are there- that kid and her giant head- and the usual dramatic shots too.

This Frankenstein Monster is mostly just the Universal one, since he never wears the fur coat that the Marvel version is more famous for (and yes, it was in a later Universal Film too).
In the Comics, he kills a bear and makes it.

In this one, he kills a bear to save the girl...and that's it.

A bunch of random changes- like the Grandpa being the blind guy- and more are to be expected.  Even Frankenstein: The True Story changed details.

The big thing here is absolutely the tonal whiplash in the final 20 minutes or so.  You think things are setup for Sequels- like the Mom being blue like our Creature- and then 'Nope!'

This one is hard to recommend to anyone but fans of Frankenstein that want something a bit different and aren't afraid to suddenly feel depressed.

No matter how much Japan change/tweak things, it's hard to get weirder than the first Live-Action Creature...

Made by Edison's Studio and NOT HIM.

Next time, I return to my digital library for more scary stuff.  No more Universal Monsters...probably.  Stay tuned...

Forgotten Toons: Marvel's Dracula- Sovereign of the Damned (1980)

 As Marvel under Disney tries to rebound with another billion-dollar Film, let's go back to their animated heyday.

Dracula: Sovereign of the Damned is the 1980 Anime adaptation of Marvel's Tomb of Dracula.  The Book ran for many years and has been viewed well in the Decades since.

In the 70s, Marvel licensed their stuff to Toei Animation.  This is how we got Japanese Spider-Man and Super Sentai.

The Plot is essentially a speed run of THE ENTIRE SERIES which had 70 issues over 7 years.  Alas, there is no Marvel connection in supporting Characters as Blade and Doctor Strange were cut.

Will this make sense in around 90 minutes?
To find out, read on...

My copy didn't have the cool Title...I think.

A Satanic Cult is making a big sacrifice to Lucifer Satan.
Yes, they say it like this every time.

Dracula shows up and they think that he's their Master.
He takes the lady with him.

Elsewhere, a young guy named Frank is confronted by an old dude in a wheelchair and a lady.

They hire him to hunt Dracula!

As it turns out, he's Dracula's Son...albeit one born while he was alive.
They don't get into the chronology of this at all.

The Cult plans revenge when they learn that Dracula tricked them.  Lucifer Satan tells him that he has a plan and to wait a year.

While the year progresses, the Hunters sort of close in and Dracula sires another child- Janus.

Issue 55

Weirdly, he picks that moment to reveal the truth to his Wife.
Yes, this didn't come up in a whole year.

He tells a long flashback where he was a strong protector of his land until he was killed.
He was brought back to life by Lucifer Satan as a Vampire!

The Hunters close in, but they are actually not the first person to confront Dracula.

The Cult Leader surrounds the Church with crosses and tries to shoot Dracula with silver bullets.

He turns into smoke and the baby is shot.
I mean...you turned into smoke in front of them- what did you expect?!?

Issue 59

Things take a very strange turn in the ensuing time.

Dracula hides away and the Wife mourns Janus.
She tries to commit suicide, but a literal Deus Ex Machina happens.

A heavenly light (God?) revives Janus...and turns him into a super-powered teenager.
He was the original Psi-Lord (aka Franklin Richards)

Issue 61

The new Janus has holy powers and scares away Dracula.

A different power confronts him, however, in the form of Lucifer Satan.

He literally Drags them To Hell and tries to kill Dracula, who is saved by his Wife's latent holy powers!
(In the Comics, it's a lady named Topaz)

Issue 64

While he's free, Dracula is a human once again!

He fails many times to get restored, including asking two different lady Vampires to turn him (back).

He gets oddly heroic as he flees to a House full of kids and fends off the undead with a cross.

Issue 69

He manages to regain his vampiric powers, but the Hunters (remember them?) are coming.

Harker makes them stay outside and he manages to impale Dracula with a silver spoke.
He blows them both up, as the Couple leave.

Back home, Janus returns to his Mother...and to his baby form.  The End.

Issue 70

What a strange, truncated series of events.

As mentioned, this is a loose adaptation of 70 issues of Tomb of Dracula.  With Blade and Dr. Strange excised (as well as Silver Surfer), they found room to trim things down.

As you saw, the character of Topaz was basically absorbed into Dracula's Wife, for example.

I was not *that* familiar with the Tomb of Dracula Books (being born 4 years after they ended didn't help matters), so I honestly thought that this one was just going off in a weird, Japanese direction.

Color me shocked to learn that all of this- Dracula's superhero kid, him fighting Lucifer Satan and all that- is 100% from the Books.  Maybe I need to support the Kickstarter to get the last Trade released.

The Animation here is dated in good and bad ways.  If you like the '70s style (think Lupin the 3rd or early Gundam), then you'll like this.
They do take some short cuts with repeat animation, some people just not moving and other such things.  It's not amazing, but it is crazy.

This one works if you don't know the Comics as a bizarre bit of History, with Japan making Anime out of Marvel Comics a few Decades before they tried again.

Now I'm doing this during October since it is Horror themed, but it is actually the wrong Holiday...

Next time, I switch back to physical media.  I'm sitting on a few Horror Remakes from the 2000s, so maybe I'll check one out.  Stay tuned...

Shudder Day: Exit 8 (2025/6)

Liminal Horror.
Do you need to Google what that means?

When you're done, check out the one that is NOT Backrooms.

This, instead, is...

An unnamed man rides the Tokyo Subway, ignoring bad behavior by those along the way.

He goes to meet his Girlfriend at the Hospital and just needs to take Exit 8.

A simple task.

One long hallway.
A Corner.
Exit...1?

As he soon figures out, he's stuck in a Loop known as Exit 8.

He has to go back if there are anomalies (like a sign changed) or keep going if things are normal.

Easier said than done though.

Things get creepier as time goes on.

The Film also sometimes switches focus to the other people we sometimes see like The Walking Man.

As things get worse and quite strange, can the Unknown Man learn more about himself and why he ended up in this place.

With a kid in peril, can he rise to the occasion?

Can he regain his future?

To find out, stream it now.

A Film that has a thin premise and tries to make the most of it.

If you don't know and didn't Google it first, Liminal Horror is about people being trapped in spaces with no end, usually in the form of a loop.

This one is shiny and not yellow, which is a plus.

The early parts of the Film are going to be what hopefully hook you.  As things go on, the sense of familiarity works with and against the Film.

There are occasional glimpses of other locations- for reasons I won't SPOIL- so they clearly knew that this was a potential issue.

If you stick with the middle parts, the Ending will definitely hook you and feel satisfying.
Just be on the lookout for moments that make you react like this...

A Film with a great premise that is, admittedly, difficult to adapt into a Film.  I think that it mostly succeeds and will live on in my memory for a while.

'90s Fun?: Ninja Scroll (1993)

 A Film that I remember being crazy and bloody when I was younger.
As an older man, am I a fan of this still?

This is Ninja Scroll, the 1993 Anime Film that inspired many, many people.

The Plot involves a crazy conspiracy involving multiple ninjas and some gold.  Meanwhile, a stoic jerk named Jubei is dragged into things.

As luck would have it, the whole thing ties into a person from his past and he's a badass Samurai.

Can he work with a lady Ninja and a creepy Master to save the day?
Does this one hold up?

To find out, read on...

A mysterious man- Jubei- is attacked by two strangers on a bridge.

He takes them both out, but the 2nd man was apparently in a wooden body suit.

The tiny man's attempt to shoot Jubei fails and we never see the tiny man again.

A bunch of ninjas are sent into the Woods to look for bad guys, only to be killed by two powerful Ninja.

The main one is a giant, rock man with Thanos' double blade from Endgame and chops up so many people that it rains blood.

He kills the lead guy and captures the lead lady.

He does bad stuff to her (which is plot relevant TBF) before Jubei shows up to help her escape.

I don't think that I need to blur this, right?

Jubei doesn't agree to help her and they go their separate ways.

The stone guy attacks Jubei this time and Jubei kills him as he's affected by a strange malady.

He chops off the guy's fingers and his own blade hoists him Friday the 13th: Part IV style.

She poisoned him earlier when he, well, you know.

Jubei is greeted by Cliche Creepy Old Master Guy, but still refuses the Call to Action.

He's attacked at an Onsen by a lady who can animate her tattoos.
This (and the stone guy) clearly inspired Elektra.

The key thing is that he's poisoned by the lady and must work with the Master.

He joins forces with the Ninja who knows that something big is going to happen.

Jubei hears the name 'Gemma' and flashes back to when he killed the guy for being a corrupt a-hole.

On the way to where a bunch of gold is coming in, they keep getting attacked by different Ninjas with different powers.

That's Act 2 for you, complete with a blind swordsman (not Zatoichi), a shadow guy and this guy who is apparently a Human Wasp's Nest!

Please don't think about this too hard.

The trio prepare a plan to stop the theft of the gold, but it falls apart when the bad guy appears in disguise.

It's Gemma!
He's...just the guy from Fist of the North Star then?

The Ninja lady dies- ending her Arc of nearly dying to save Jubei multiple times- and the Master takes out the last remaining henchman.

Jubei fights Gemma and learns that he has the power of immortality!
He'll just keep coming back.

So, Jubei just cuts him and lets the melting gold on the ship coat him until he sinks to the bottom.
Off to the Sequel (which is incomplete).

The End.

It's a bloody good love letter to the best (and worst) of 1990s Anime and Animation in general.

This Movie still looks pretty amazing, even on a DVD from 1998.  Every frame was made specially (or so they say) so there is no repeat animation or filler.

The Film is very dynamic and it is easy to see why the Action inspired people like The Wachowskis (to the point where this Director worked on The Animatrix).

Plot is somewhat of a different Story as it is a pretty loose collection of melodrama, action and convenience.  It's not terrible, but most Reviews talk/talked about the Action and Style.

It is absolutely not for everyone with all of the blood, severed limbs and all of what happens to the lead Ninja lady.

Ultimately, older me can appreciate all of the work and style put into the insanity.  That said, the main Villain is kind of...odd.

Next time, I jump to my Digital Library to talk about an OOP TV Movie.  It has everyone's favorite Monsters, but also nobody ever seems to remember it except for me.  Stay tuned...

Tubi Thursday: Godzilla vs Space Godzilla (1994)

 After a disappointing (but not terrible) Film last week, I wanted someone more reliable.

As such, let's jump back one Film from my last Godzilla Review and see how he battles a threat...from SPACE...Space...space...

This is Godzilla.

He's living on an Island, but G-Force wants to take him down.

A man named Yuki is really wanting him dead, even going so far as to make a 'magic bullet' to stop him!

This is Space Godzilla.

He's a crazy monster formed from Godzilla's cells exposed to radiation in space and combined with space cyrstals.

I have no follow-up questions.

After spending a bit of time setting up Yuki and Godzilla's rivalry (and the other Characters, I guess), the first match-up takes place.

Due to Space Godzilla's high reaction rolls, it injures Big G with his own blasts!

He also takes Little Goczilla (or Jr) away for maximum pathos.

Why it has a tractor beam is never quite explained.

Things are so bad that they bring out MOGERA, a Mech last seen in 1957's The Mysterians to battle it.

If you know the Band that based its name on said Movie, I hope you're enjoying your Medicare Part B Plans.

It all leads up to a prolonged showdown between the two creatures in a crystal-filled Tokyo.

Godzilla needs help, so Yuki and the others use MOGERA (split and together) to help turn the tide and the creature is defeated.

Yuki is (mostly) over his hatred now.
The End.

A pretty enjoyable Godzilla Film all around.

To be fair, some of the digital effects and use of a green/blue screen are...not always great.  Most work fine though.

Watching Space Godzilla fly around like a kite was unintentionally funny too.

I like the design of Space Godzilla.  How did he miss out on a return in Final Wars?
The bad guys were literally Space Aliens, after all!

The Human Plot was pretty interesting as well, with a newer focus on the lady having mental powers like telekinesis and Yuki's whole Arc.  It's not a letdown and it doesn't leave you wanting an immediate return to the Kaiju Action.

My only real critique, I guess, is that the fight between the two title Characters is mostly just blasting and standing still surrounded by crystals.  There must have been a way to make that more dynamic.

I think that maybe Godzilla's suit was getting worn out though, as shown by the tail in many Scenes.

Regardless, I still enjoyed this one a lot and now I need it on the best format ever- Laser MFing Disc!

The semi-finale to the middle run of Godzilla Films still holds up.  We need more of this two-horned Godzilla foe!

Tubi Thursday: Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)

 We're at an interesting point in time for the Godzilla Franchise.

We have a Sequel to Minus One, another MonsterVerse Film and about 70 crossover Comics.

Let's take a trip back to 1995 and see how the Heisei Era ended...

Godzilla is on the rampage and he looks quite different.

It turns out that his heart/nuclear generator is working towards a meltdown!

The Japanese Government knows that this is trouble and seeks out a young Scientist (the brother of the one from Godzilla vs Biollante).

He initially says 'no,' but quickly says 'yes' when he hears who is working there.

Elsewhere, a Scientist has created something called Micro-Oxygen.

It can be a helpful too, but the Widow of Dr. Serizawa (the Creator of the Oxygen Destroyer in the OG Godzilla) is nervous.

Her fears turn out to be somewhat founded as small creatures exposed to remnants of the Oxygen Destroyer and the new Micro-Oxygen form.

They become walking crabs/tanks for a while and wreaking havoc.

The Government is desperate to stop Godzilla, fearing that his meltdown will destroy the World.

From inside of what looks like Gizmonic Institute, they come up with a plan to freeze him and stall for time.

Despite seemingly being dead/missing, Little Godzilla (aka Little) appears and is unharmed.

He's grown to look like his Dad, only much smaller.

He's the key to getting the melting down Godzilla to Tokyo.

Why?

Because the big crabs/tanks have now formed Destoroyah (often called Destroyer).

Can Little and the soon-to-blow Godzilla save Tokyo?

Yes, but at what cost?!?

To find out, stream it now.

A dramatic, powerful and exciting conclusion to the Heisei Era.

It was actually meant to let the Series rest until 2004, but Roland Emmerich's work changed plans.

The Plot works well in isolation, but even better as a Series Finale.  Characters and Actors from the Past return here, from a Psychic to Momoko Koichi returning as Serizawa's Wife from the 1954 Film.

That said, if you don't watch these in order, it is still quite good.  You just lose some subtext and pathos.

Godzilla has a unique look here with his meltdown appearance.  When you see things get worse and his fins actually melt, it is a sight to behold.

Like most of these Films, the usual things come up- miniatures not always looking real, Godzilla disappearing in the middle of the Film and some technical limitations.

Knowing all that, the Film is great.
It only actually ended the Series for about 4 years, but it is still straight fire!

A Film that is full of finality, even behind the Scenes.  If you enjoy these for what they are, this is a real delight!